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Hi Garry,

I reckon the confusion comes from the fact that Opel changed the interval around the 2002/2003 model year. For the earlier cars, the interval is every 60,000km or four years (whichever comes first), but it changed to 90,000km or six years from 2003 on.

And just to confuse things further, there was a version of the 1.4-litre engine made from 2003 that used a timing chain instead of a timing belt. The engine code for that is Z14XEP, where the timing belt engine is Z14XE.

It is possible, of course, that your car was a 2002 model year in terms of manufacture, even if it was not registered until 2003, so I'd suggest being cautious.

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Hi David,

OK, we found a few good options, via Carzone, but there are plenty more if you have a look.

How about a BMW 5 Series? It’s top of budget, but we found a 131-reg 520d in SE spec, with auto, air conditioning and cruise. A fabulous car to drive, and perfect for long journeys. Used BMW 5 Series for sale on Carzone. Maybe check out our BMW 5 Series F10 (2010-2017) used car buying guide if that piques your interest.

Or, if you need something a little more practical (and also faultlessly reliable) how about a Mazda6 Estate 150hp diesel? It’s a 2015 car, and they’re as good to drive as they are to look at. Used Mazda6 for sale on Carzone. (Read our Mazda6 reviews here).

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Hi John,

Do you mean acrappage trade-in on an old off-roader? Or scrappage trade-in when buying a new off-roader? Yes, is the answer in both cases — most brands currently have some sort of scrappage offer in play, and it really doesn’t matter what vehicle you’re trading in — you’re going to get some kind of discount.

Or, did you mean can you get scrappage on a car that’s registered as being off-the-road? That’s trickier. Really, the car that you’re trading in generally has to get to the garage under its own steam, and show current tax and insurance to qualify. It’s worth having a word with the dealer you’re buying from, though, as there may be some wiggle room on that score. 

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Hi Philip,

It’s not just a problem for hybrids; all cars have catalytic convertors and the problem is that they use hugely valuable precious metals — principally rhodium and palladium — to achieve the chemical reactions that reduce the levels of pollution coming from the engine. Hybrid cars tend to have more of those metals in the cat, and they tend to be less corroded and worn, because a hybrid car, on average, runs its engine for shorter periods than a conventional car. Hence the targeting of hybrids. The best advice from the Gardaí to prevent such theft is to park in a busy, well-lit area if you can. There are also devices — known as cat-locks — which might offer some protection.

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Hi Richard,

The phrase ‘can of worms’ springs to mind. In general, a car can be registered to a company, and taxed and insured by the company, and still used by an individual for social, domestic and pleasure use. That’s how company cars work, obviously, but equally obviously there’s a Benefit-in-Kind tax liability to be paid. So it’s possible that your friend with the Land Cruiser is trying to avoid paying BIK.

In the case of the SUV, in theory a car that’s taxed as a commercial cannot be used for personal, social, domestic, or pleasure driving and there’s a fine to be paid if you’re caught displaying incorrect tax. Now, we should state at this point that we’re neither legal nor tax experts, and that the people you’re talking about could be operating entirely above board, and we’re not going to cast any aspersions on anyone.

Of course, this is Ireland and as we know, we don’t like sticking to the rules...

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Hi Aidan,

Insurance is a perennial bugbear and, unfortunately, we don’t have much of an answer for you. It could be that, when damaged, the C4 is more expensive to repair than the Almera, or simply that Irish insurers view anything that’s not a dull four-door saloon as ’sporty’ in some vague way. I’m afraid that the only thing to do is the old ’shop-around’ routine when it comes to renewal. I think it would also be worth having a word with your current insurer, find out exactly why your insurance went up (this might take a bit of drilling down through layers of ‘computer says no’) and make it very clear how dissatisfied you are, and that you’re planning to move your insurance at renewal time. 

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Hi Marlon,

It’s not a classic yet, I’m afraid. To qualify for ’vintage’ status (as Revenue erroneously insists on using), a car has to be at least 30 years old, so the youngest BMW Z3s won’t start to qualify until 2025. Calculating a VRT value for one is tricky, as prices and values are massively variable according to condition. I would think that a value of around €6,000 sounds about right, which could mean as much as €2,100 in VRT terms given that the 2.0i auto is in the highest band for VRT with CO₂ emissions above 225g/km. That’s just a guess though — Revenue is notoriously awkward about valuing cars that are less common.

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Hi Rory,

That’s a really tough one to answer, as there are so few E30 3 Series around at the moment, and values stretch from almost nothing to lots, depending on condition. The problem is that Revenue is notoriously awkward when it comes to valuing older, rarer cars and could slap a massive value on the car that’s simply not realistic. My best suggestion would be to get in touch with the BMW Owners Club in Ireland and get a good feeling for the value of your car. If Revenue mis-values it, you’ll be able to appeal and claim back the excess VRT paid. Or, perhaps, try and wait until October to get it done, which would be the best all-round. 

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Hi Roisin,

Unfortunately, we can’t tell you the precise amount of VRT payable on a Tesla Model 3 as Tesla doesn’t provide us with a wholesale price, net of VRT and VAT. However, it’s not going to be much, if anything at all, thanks to the €5,000 VRT rebate available on electric cars.

As for the vast difference between the price of a Model 3 in the US, most of that is down to tax — don’t forget that the American price Tesla quotes does not include local sales taxes, whereas the Irish price is inclusive of VAT (which is, at a rough guess, the guts of €5,000 to €8,000 depending on the model).

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Hi Tina,

There can be many different reasons for a start-stop system not to work. We get so many queries about it that we wrote this feature: Why won't my car's stop-start system work?